A typical cotton harvester includes between two and five cotton harvesting units supported at the front end thereof. Each harvesting unit includes a housing with a harvesting mechanism. The harvesting mechanism is typically comprised of a pair of upright picker rotors located alongside of a plant passage defined by the housing.
Each picker rotor includes 12-15 vertical picker bars, each of which oscillates about its own vertical axis and includes 14-20 cotton picker spindles radially extending therefrom. Each picker spindle is rotatably driven at an inner end and about its own axis by a bevel gear arrangement accommodated within the picker bar. A suitable drive arrangement transmits power from an input drive shaft to drive each of the picker rotors in timed relation to each other.
To reduce friction, wear, and downtime resulting from rotational movement, each picker spindle and the drive mechanism therefor is frequently lubricated. In previous years, as many as 28 individual lubricant fittings were provided on a harvesting unit of a typical cotton harvester.
Various approaches have been devised to reduce the time and effort required to properly lubricate cotton picker spindles and their drive mechanisms on each picker rotor. One such approach utilizes a centrally located lubricant fitting arranged at an upper end of the picker rotor for delivering lubricant to a lubricant reservoir. Leading from the lubricant reservoir are a plurality of dependent tubes or conduits which feed lubricant to various locations along the picker bar to lubricate the picker spindles and the bevel gear arrangement within each picker bar. To minimize operator involvement, other cotton picker spindle lubrication systems contemplate delivering lubricant to each of such lubricant fittings through a series of lubricant lines or conduits.
Although adequate, such lubrication systems were not without drawbacks. Replacement of a picker bar/picker spindle and other field maintenance operations on the cotton harvesting mechanism involves fitting a rotor wrench over an upper end of the picker rotor to manually position the rotor in order to effect such ends. In those lubrication systems wherein a lubricant line leads to the centrally located lubricant fitting at the upper end of the picker rotors, however, such a lubricant line interferes with proper placement of the wrench and, therefore, the line must be disconnected from its fitting prior to performance of such field maintenance. The need to disconnect a lubricant line from a fitting increases operator frustration and overall downtime for the harvester. Lubricant lines are often contaminated with dirt upon their disassociation with the fitting and/or the operator fails to reconnect the lubricant line after performing the field service operation. Moreover, each of the several lubricant tubes depending from the central reservoir is subject to twist, blockage and/or damage throughout operation of the harvester.
Thus, there is a need and desire for a cotton spindle lubrication system which avoids the above-mentioned drawbacks without sacrificing lubricant capabilities to the picker spindles of the harvester.